


Little Mouse

by Defira



Category: Dragon Age
Genre: Blooming Rose, F/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-04
Updated: 2011-10-04
Packaged: 2017-10-24 07:30:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/260685
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Defira/pseuds/Defira
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the DA2 quest Enemies Among Us, Macha hired Hawke to find out what had happened to her missing Templar brother.</p><p>When she learns about the involvement of some of the staff at the Blooming Rose, she summons her courage to confront those she holds responsible for nearly destroying her brother's life. Little does she realise that Hawke has already dealt with the perpetrators, leaving it up to a certain redheaded elf to send her on her way.</p><p>A birthday present for my very dear katiebour</p>
            </blockquote>





	Little Mouse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [katiebour](https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiebour/gifts).



It was one of those rare moments- an afternoon off without a single client to please or pleasure or titillate and for once that seemed like a marvellous thing. He'd already indulged himself with an hour long soak down in the steam room that was employee use only, dozing off in one of the marble tubs and waking delightfully languid and wrinkly. Padding back to his room clad only in a thin robe, he glanced outside at the cheerful sunshine and the gentle breeze that was stirring the bunting on the outside of the building. It seemed like the kind of day that one needed to be out of doors, and given that he had many hours to fill until the evening shift, he decided that perhaps an afternoon of shopping was just what was in order.

His footsteps slowed when he heard shouting down in the parlour, and he saw three of the younger girls hanging over the balcony, pointing and giggling at whatever was going on downstairs. Between the three of them, they were probably only just in possession of a full set of clothing, but such a lackadaisical approach to dress sense and modesty was hardly unusual in the Rose. "Girls, girls, girls," he said, coming up behind them and draping his arm over two of their shoulders, "what on earth are we ogling at? You'll be catching yourselves a merry bounty of flies if you keep gaping like that."

Sinead giggled and threw herself into his arms, squeezing tightly. "Oh, it's the most ridiculous thing, Jethann," she said, kissing him firmly on the cheek and then giggling while she wiped away the mark her lipstick had left on his cheek. "Viveka has this little mouse all up in arms because she won't show her the client book."

"Oh, she's all red in the face," Danae said with a rather unladylike snort. She was only half dressed, her corset drooping around her and one stocking missing entirely. Her rouge was smudged as well- clearly she'd come straight from a customer. "Poor little mouse, she doesn't know what to think, or where to look. She mustn't ever have seen a cock in her life!"

Jethann glanced down at the spectacle that had them all so amused, while Keeleigh snuggled against him in a remarkably feline manner, her crimson hair tickling at his chin. He looped his arm around her absently while he took in the young woman below who was the cause of all the fuss.

She _was_ a mousy little thing, her dull blonde hair cut at an unflattering angle, and her body language screaming that she was generally amongst the extremely introverted. He read it all in the space of a second as he watched the scene unfold- the way her shoulders seemed to droop forward, the way she clutched at her wrist with her other hand, reaching across her body in a half hug, the way she couldn't hold eye contact for more than a few seconds. And yet she was _yelling_ at Viveka, who admittedly looked like she was trying not to laugh, but it was quite extraordinary to see the way her feathers ruffled for a fraction of a second before she lost her nerve again and had to start from scratch.

"Well, don't you keep a record of these things? I demand to know who he saw!"

Jethann rolled his eyes; another jilted lover or spouse, come to take it out on the wrong person. He saw enough of _that_ already, thank you very much. "I'll leave you lovely ladies to your diversion, then," he said, planting a kiss on Keeleigh's forehead before gently extracting himself from their affectionate grasp to a chorus of disappointed moans and pouts. He was already making a list of shops he planned to visit- _a new pair of gloves wouldn't go astray, and a new scarf, and if that sweets store was still in that pokey little corner off the main market he could indulge and treat himself to a bag of sugar drops_ \- when the conversation caught his attention yet again.

Viveka murmured something too faint for him to hear- or rather to faint for him to bother trying to overhear- but the little mouse was far too worked up and her accusation rang out through the bordello.

"My brother nearly _died_ because of what one of you... you _beasts_ did to him! He nearly lost his commission, and he was abused horribly by _creatures_ and... and... and blood mages! If you have any decency in your heart, if you even possess one, you will tell me who did that to him!"

Jethann found himself back at the railing, staring down at the little mouse with a slight frown on his face. "Ooh, she must be talking about Idunna," Keeleigh said, leaning forward with a little more interest. She had her arms around Sinead, and the two of them were cuddling close and watching the unfolding drama with rapt fascination.

Sinead flicked her hair back over her shoulder, exposing a fresh love bite on her bare shoulder. "Didn't that dog lord get rid of all that nonsense? After she killed Idunna, I heard she went and dealt with those mages."

"Dog lords and demons?" Danae sniggered, toying absently with the jewelled hoops that lined Keeleigh's elongated ears. "It sounds like some terrible bodice ripper from the back of the bookshelf."

"I heard she had a mage with her when she came in. That tall, lanky fellow that Cherise was swooning over afterwards."

"Oh, well this just writes itself! A dog lord, a mage, a Templar and demons? Somebody hand me a quill, I have smut to write."

Jethann was still frowning down at the little mouse, who was trying her damned hardest to convince Viveka to hand over the client book, and doing her best to look as intimidating as possible. She was failing on both counts. "Where's Marc?" Jethann asked, referring to the man who normally kept the dregs from making it through the door during the daytime hours.

"Viveka can handle the little mouse," Sinead said, already sounding bored. She turned away from the scene and stretched languidly. "Although it's a nice distraction; I was supposed to be in my room ten minutes ago."

Keeleigh cackled delightedly. "Sinead, you minx. Who are you ignoring this time?"

Jethann didn't listen to Sinead's response, instead heading for the grand staircase and making his way to the parlour below; the afternoon crowd was light today, and most of the guests were staring at the spectacle of the red faced young woman trying to intimidate a seasoned staff member. Viveka was no longer smiling, and she had her arms crossed as her lips thinned in displeasure.

"Look, love, I already told you- we don't give out information about our girls and boys, or about our clients. That Hawke lass already dealt with it, so why don't you be a good little missy and just bugger off? You're upsetting the lunch crowd." She caught Jethann's gaze over the top of the girl's head and rolled her eyes.

"I'm not leaving!" Up close, she was even more plain, an unassuming little thing who would easily disappear into any crowd without a second glance. The kindest thing he could say for her was that she at least had good skin, smooth and pale and unblemished. Some of the other whores used powders and tinctures by the bucket trying to mimic her creamy complexion; it was just a shame that she clearly didn't have the time or the means to take care of the rest of herself. If she actually tried, she might even turn a few heads. "You people hurt my brother, and I'm not leaving until I've-"

"Until you've done something foolish and embarrassing," he finished for her, placing a hand just behind her elbow as he went to guide her towards the door. "Why don't we just put a stop to all this shouting and silliness and take a walk out in the fresh air, hmm? Clear our heads a little?"

"Don't touch me, whore!" She was wild eyed, panicked, but beneath the spiteful terror she bore the same signs of curiosity and arousal that everyone who came to the Blooming Rose did. Sex might not have been her purpose for coming here, but it was certainly in her thoughts. It was inevitable.

He took a step backwards. "No one is touching you, Miss Mouse," he said, keeping his hands in plain sight so that she couldn't accuse him of attempting otherwise.

Her eyes boggled as she took in his lack of attire. "You're not decent!" she stammered, her face flushed and eyes darting around frantically as if looking for somewhere to stare that wouldn't offend her delicate sensibilities.

He smirked, even though the chaste accusation cut at him a little. "Sweetheart, I'm the most decent person in this building. Clothing doesn't have anything to do with who I am."

"You're terrible people," she hissed, her eyes glittering. She dashed a hand against her cheeks, smearing away the tears. "I want to help my brother, and you're all being just... _awful!_ "

Jethann adopted his most benign smile, still keeping his hands well out to the sides so that she couldn't accuse him of manhandling her. That was never a pleasant way to end an afternoon. "We're only awful if you have the coin, sweetheart," he said with a provocative drawl. If he had judged her correctly, hopefully that would be all it took to have her scurrying home...

She gasped, her hands flying up to her mouth in horror, even though the curiosity in her eyes sparked a little higher. She dashed from the room, and a moment later the front door to the whorehouse slammed shut with a resounding bang.

The room was silent, the patrons and staff alike all staring at him and the door through which the hysterical little mouse had exited. Lusine, who thankfully appeared to be absent right now, would be pissed as the Void if she found the Rose in such a state.

_So much for an afternoon to myself._

He cocked his hip to the side and smiled his most vixenish smile. "Anyone else who wants to yell at me has to pay for the pleasure," he purred, winking at a brawny guardsman and trailing his fingertips over the shoulders of the Comte de Launcet's second son as he passed. The mood in the room slowly grew more relaxed, and the patrons slowly began to turn back to their drinks and their conversations, lured further into debauchery by the other whores who took his lead and began to indulge in seduction and merriment.

Jethann stopped close to Viveka, keeping his smile firmly in place as he murmured under his breath "And where exactly was Marc during that little spectacle?" He waggled his fingers at a favourite, who was staring wistfully at him from the back of the room.

Viveka scowled, not making any effort to hide her bad mood. "Off rutting with Nelli again, knowing him," she sneered.

He hummed in contemplation, making sure that his robe slid open a little more at the front when he noticed the number of eyes that kept furtively drifting back to him. "Maybe it would be worth making a recommendation to Lusine that we don't pay him to sample the merchandise."

She looked at him as if he were dense. "I'll make a note of it," she said, turning her back on him as she went back to clearing off the tables still cluttered from the lunch crowd.

He shook his head, and slapped her on the ass as he walked past, ducking out of the way when she tried to retaliate. Their little altercation drew a few cat calls from around the room, and he grinned and bowed extravagantly, blowing kisses as he headed for the stairs.

Keeleigh was still lounging against the railing, but the other girls had vanished. Her silk slip had ridden high, and he spotted the darkening bruises on her legs that she was poking absently, her eyes distant. When she snapped back to herself and saw him looking, she flushed and looked away, pulling the slip back down to cover the injuries.

It was an old argument. "Keeleigh..."

She scowled at him, straightening haughtily before she went to storm past him. "He pays well," she said frigidly. He put an arm out and caught her by the wrist, but she still refused to look at him. "Not all of us are lucky with who buys us, Jeth."

After a long tense moment, he nodded and let go of her. She hesitated for a moment, clearly not as comfortable with the money as she would have him believe, before stalking off down the passageway towards the private quarters.

Jethann sighed and debated whether or not to go after her, but ruled against it. She wouldn't talk about it, they'd just end up yelling, and it was his afternoon off, dammit. He wanted to go shopping.

Although maybe he'd add a bottle of single malt whiskey to the top of his shopping list.

***

_Two days later_

The squeals of delight from the woman above him were delightfully ridiculous, and Jethann had to fight to maintain his professionalism and not laugh out loud at her frantic, mewling shrieks. She ground herself down against him twice more, and then convulsed; if it wasn't so hilarious, he might have been concerned for his safety, given the way she was flailing about wildly.

When she collapsed against him he felt the breath whoosh from him, and tried not to grunt in discomfort as her not insignificant weight pressed him into the mattress. He made all the appropriate cooing noises when she nuzzled at his neck and nipped at his ears, but he couldn't stop himself from taking a ragged gasp of air when she finally heaved herself off him. Thankfully she took it as a gasp of pleasure and she brushed her fingers down his thighs affectionately.

"Will you be free again next Iovis?" she asked breathlessly, crawling backwards over the bed and stumbling a little as her feet hit the ground.

"For you, my lady, _always_ ," he drawled, propping himself up on an elbow and tilting his head at just the right angle so that his hair fell forward, hiding his eyes while he smiled coyly and-

It got exactly the response he wanted. She tittered like a teenager with her first crush, scooping up her clothing in a rush and dashing behind the screen to get dressed. The moment she was out of sight, Jethann let out a silent sigh of relief and flopped back onto the bed, stretching each limb one at a time as he felt his muscles slowly uncoiling. Lady Jostille was hardly a terrible client, but she was a larger woman, and her exuberance was more than a little challenging given her girth.

She puttered about, dressing quickly and stopping by the bed to stare at his unabashed nudity one last time, her cheeks flushing anew as she reached out to touch his toes. She giggled girlishly when he arched his foot and she snatched her hand back, dashing for the door; she hesitated once in the doorway before slipping out into the hallway... and he could finally relax.

He found himself dozing off on top of the silk sheets, lulled by the familiar scents of sex and oil and overly floral perfume. Some time later- it could have been half a minute or half an hour for all he cared- he was roused by a knock on the door and turned his head with a drowsy "Mm?"

Lusine stood in the doorway, prim and proper as always with her high collars and lace cuffs. Her face was pinched, that perpetual half sneer on her mouth as she took in his sprawling nudity. "I take it Lady Jostille was satisfied?" she enquired, as if he weren't fully naked and still sticky from the coupling and it was a perfectly acceptable moment for them to speak.

He snorted, and rolled out of bed, not bothering to wrap the sheet around his waist; it wasn't anything that Lusine hadn't already seen hundreds of times over. She didn't bother with any squeamishness in her establishment- he'd even heard that she'd interrupted a couple in the middle of.. well, it didn't bear thinking about too carefully. "As satisfied as ever," he said, dipping his hands into the shallow basin on the bureau and splashing water over his face. Reaching for a towel to dry off, he called over his shoulder "And am I to know the reason for this little interruption? I'm supposed to have another client in ten minutes."

"You have a visitor, Jethann," she said coolly, her foot tapping unhappily on the floor.

That piqued his interest and he glanced back at her. "I hope it's another sexy dog lord come to force answers from me at any cost. But have no fear- no matter how erotic her attempts to persuade me, I shall stand firm against her and her devious-"

"Spare me the melodrama, Jethann," she snapped. "The girl won't move on, and I don't want to cause a scene, so please speak to her and send her on her way as quickly as possible. Break her heart if you have to, but I'll not have little lost waifs mooning over my whores. It's bad for business."

"Unless the little lost waif has access to daddy's coin purse, of course."

"Even so," she said, eyes narrowed. "She's down in the parlour, unless you'd prefer I send her on up to you?"

"Oh, Lusine, you vixen, how am I supposed to resist giving her a free ride if you leave us alone together?" When she didn't respond except for a more poisonous glare than she was already wearing, he sighed melodramatically and reached for a robe. "I'll come down to the parlour. Really, why do you even ask me at all when we both know what you want me to say?"

She was already leaving, but she called back into the room "You deserve the illusion of choice, at the very least. I respect you to that extent."

He wasn't quite sure if it was supposed to be an insult or a compliment; it was easier for his peace of mind if he just assumed it to be a stunning testament to Lusine's love for him. Better than trying to consider the alternative, that she didn't give a fuck about the happiness of an elf whore; better than stopping to follow that thought through to its depressing conclusion, that he was indeed nothing more than a knife eared doxy.

"Oh, look at you, you silly slut," he chuckled to himself as he ducked out of the door and swanned towards the parlour. "It's not even an acceptable hour for hard liquor and you've gone maudlin. Buck up, Jethann!"

He got more than a few looks as he descended the staircase in the scrap of silk that passed for a robe, his hair mussed and his skin still glistening with oil while the musky perfume of sex danced in his wake. He spotted a few clients and made sure to wink, and he noticed a few that he'd yet to sample casting him furtive looks- he made sure there was a little extra strut in his step for their sakes, letting the robe slip a little further off his shoulder as he did.

His image was everything, after all, and it kept him warm, fed, and at the very least usually brought him some amusement, if not pleasure. No reason why he shouldn't have a little fun in the process of things.

His guest was not hard to spot- she stood out like a greased nug at an evening Chant. It was the mousy little woman from the other day, and his shock at seeing her actually caused him to falter in his step for a moment. She was staring around bug-eyed, her face flushed again and her hands clenched tightly around the mug in front of her; her grip was so fierce that her knuckles were bone white. She tensed almost painfully when he sat down opposite her, fixing her gaze firmly on the table top.

"Don't you ever wear clothes?" she blurted out, flushing all the way down to her prim neckline.

Jethann smirked and stretched languidly, knowing she wasn't the only one in the room trying to avoid looking at him. "Miss Mouse, people pay me to take my clothes _off_. It saves everybody time if I just keep them off, and then we can move onto the fun a whole lot faster."

Her eyes widened as the imagery sank in, and her gaze flickered up to him once. "You... you aren't really... why do you call me that?"

"Miss Mouse?" he asked, grinning broadly. He didn't have a lot of time before his next client, and he could see Lusine standing by the bar with a dark look on her face. "Because you're such a timid, mousy little thing," he said fondly, almost taking the sting out of the words. "Miss Mouse, creeping into the lions' den; she squeaked once and terrified herself and dashed off home again."

He saw the dismay in her eyes the moment before she ducked her head, and he felt the pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. It was for the best though; her type was not meant to dally for too long in places like the Blooming Rose. She was far, far too innocent for these debauched halls. "Come on, sweetheart, chin up- what's a nice girl like you doing dirtying your feet in a place like this a second time, hmm? Surely you've got better places to be than drinking our swill and chatting to whores."

Her face flushed an even deeper shade of red, and she pushed away from the table. "It's fine, I'll go, I'm sorry for interrupting you while you-" She clapped a hand over her mouth, stark horror blooming in her face. "Oh Maker, I didn't... ' _interrupt_ ' you, did I?"

Jethann couldn't help but laugh. "Miss Mouse, you'd have to rub some very shiny coins together to pull me away from my work," he said, shaking his head in amusement. "Now, come on sweetheart- why'd you drag yourself back in here? I'm sure it wasn't for the simple delight of my company."

She was still having trouble looking up at him, her shoulders hunched and her gaze fixed on the mug in her hands. He hadn't seen her drink from it yet, and he wondered if she hadn't bought it just to have something to do with her hands. "I... maybe I... what if I did?"

He had to try really hard not to laugh; she was just far too adorably cute and naïve to be real, and yet here she was blushing and spluttering and doing her damned best to look at ease, when in fact he couldn't think of anyone he'd ever seen more uncomfortable. "Really?" he said wryly. "You came all the way back here, just to talk to a terrible whore like me?"

She flinched back from the reminder of the words she'd thrown at him. "I came to apologise," she stammered. "You were polite and I... you were right, I was being rude and I shouldn't have said those horrible things and... and I wanted to say I was sorry?"

It took him a moment to realise she'd stopped; the odd way that she'd phrased the apology as a question threw him for a moment. "Oh, Miss Mouse, have you been worrying your silly little head over what a whore thinks of you?"

"I'm not a mouse!" she burst out, her head snapping up and her gaze catching his. She caught herself staring, and looked away, murmuring softly "My name is Macha. I... I'm sorry I called you a... _whore_. I was just upset about my brother, and I-"

"Don't apologise for that, sweetheart," he said, spotting Lusine gesturing impatiently with her hand for him to wrap it up. "It was cute of you to come in to try and help him. It's more than most people would do for their family, trust me." He stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Macha the Mouse, I must-"

"You're going?" she said, sounding genuinely dismayed.

He couldn't help but laugh gently at her innocence. "Sweetheart, it's more a case of me _coming_ , as it currently stands. I have people who have paid for my time and, well..." _You haven't_.

It took her a moment for his double entendre to register and for the implicit dismissal in his words to sink in as well. He saw her hands tighten around the mug. "Oh! Oh, of course, that was... that was really foolish of me not to realise. I'll, um... I'll just go; I shouldn't have come here, and I'm sorry for ruining your afternoon. I just wanted to make amends for being so awful. I'll go."

She was stumbling to her feet, still stuttering and blushing adorably; she was so cute, her naivety refreshing in a place that only ever saw jaded hearts and weary souls. Unable to help himself, he reached over and took her hand in his and bowed down to lay a kiss against her knuckles. She went still as a statue, a nervous little whisper of air escaping from her.

He straightened and offered her his best rapscallion smile. "Now, you run along and enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Macha Mouse. There's no reason for you to hang around-"

"What's your name?"

The question surprised him, for he hadn't really expected her to care that much in the first place. "I'm Jethann, sweetheart," he said, smirking a little. "But if you have a preference for a different name, you just have to-"

"You don't need to keep saying things about me paying for you," she said quickly, pulling her hand back from his grasp and rubbing absently with her knuckles. "You... your name is fine. Jethann. I won't be... I wouldn't ask that of you, after saying such awful things, you deserve better than that." She tensed again. "Not that I would have used you before that! I don't think that... I mean, I don't believe in this... oh, that's not to say I think you're doing a bad thing, what you're doing here and-"

"Miss Mouse," he said, smirking a little as she made herself more and more flustered.

"I'll just be going now," she stammered; she turned and almost sprinted for the door, leaving him amused and confused and unfortunately late for his next client.

What an odd little woman she was.


End file.
